All That Glitters
by Coffee Prince Addict
Summary: Ryoko Kobayashi has a hard time dealing with Kai Hiwatari, her rival at Belmont Private School, who has everything from popularity to wealth. But is there more to Kai than meets the eye? KaiXOC On hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

All That Glitters

A/N: I do not own Beyblade, of course.

Chapter One- Competitive Edge

"Oh crap, I just remembered that we have that math test today. I should have studied."

"I don't think it would've mattered. Sheridan is tough. You'd probably fail anyways."

"Hey!"

"Well, most other people would too. Only the top ten get decent grades, and even then, hardly anyone manages an A."

"Well, except for _those_ two."

"Yeah. Hiwatari and Kobayashi are insane. Well, Kobayashi is, at least. Hiwatari's a genius."

These were just one of the many conversations that went on at Belmont Private School, a middle-ranking private high school with minimal prestige. Still, the school had a fairly rigorous academic department that spared no student any mercy. Any student who could take on all the honors classes available and stay alive was a remarkable one.

But there were only two students who even bothered to do this sickening mental self-torture.

It was morning at Belmont and the girls were "casually" hanging around the school entrance. In reality, they all just wanted a chance to glimpse at Kai Hiwatari, who they had not seen all summer, arriving in his red Ferrari.

He arrived just now, parking his car in the parking lot. He got out of his car and headed towards the school entrance, where girls looked at him from head to toe.

Any guy could pull the school uniform off to some degree. But on Kai, the navy slacks and blazer combo fitted him perfectly. The school initials were embossed in gold upon the front of his blazer and he wore a matching navy tie with a white collared t-shirt underneath. Auburn-colored eyes swept across the face of the familiar building in a cool manner. The effect: Rich, classy, and very, very polished. It was enough to make several freshman girls faint. And enough to make one girl, very, very annoyed.

"Oh, Kai, I haven't seen you for so long. Did you miss me?"

"Wow, Kai, have you been working out this summer?"

"Do you already have a date to the next school dance?"

Girls greeted Kai enthusiastically, squealing with excitement. Kai, who was used to this, greeted them back cordially, although in a reserved and cool manner.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to leave," Kai said politely as he turned to leave.

"Enjoying the attention, Hiwatari?"

Kai looked up. A girl of about 5'5" in height was glaring up at him. She had brown eyes and long, waist-length, black hair. She wore the female school uniform- a knee-length navy skirt (it was supposed to be shorter, thanks to the student council's vote to alter the school uniforms to 'fit the more modern tastes of the 21st century') with a navy blazer with gold buttons. She carried a heavy black backpack, which was stuffed with all sorts of school supplies and summer reading books. The bags under her eyes were apparent- it was likely that she had been studying all night long. A frown completed her overall miserable and tired appearance.

"It's been a while, Ryo. How has your summer been? Productive, I assume?" Kai said politely, although there was ever-so-slight a smile on his face.

"Don't mock me like that, Hiwatari," Ryo said, irked by Kai's coolness.

"I was only assuming that you've been working hard this summer. I meant, nothing by it."

"Hmph."

A ticked-off Ryo spun on her heel and tried to walk away with the same cool dignity Kai had displayed when he first arrived. However, her backpack was too heavy and she fell backwards, losing her balance and falling on top of Kai. And not in the very romantic kind of way, either.

"Oh my god, Kai are you okay?"

"He's not hurt, is he?"

Worried girls began crowding around Kai. Embarassed, Ryo attempted to hoist herself up again, but like a turtle on its back, she utterly failed to lift her backpack up.

_Ugh, I __knew__ I should've gotten one of those dumb backpacks with wheels_, Ryo thought irritably.

Beneath her, Kai started laughing. The girls who had been flustering over Kai looked at him like he was insane. But Ryo only grew redder, and she slipped her arms out of the loops of her backpack and tried to lift it off Kai.

"Sheesh, what's in here? A dead body?"

Kai lifted Ryo's bulging backpack off of him effortlessly, carrying the heavy object in his arms. He looked at Ryo with humor.

"Are you sure you don't want me to carry this back to class for-"

"No. Its fine," Ryo cut in abruptly, shooting down Kai's kind offer. She didn't want Kai to embarrass her anymore than he already had. So she took the bag from him and carried the load in her arms, like she was carrying a boulder. Ryo hurriedly left, trying to ignore some of the odd looks she was getting and at the same time trying to ignore the throbbing pain on her neck, shoulders, and back from carrying such a burdensome object on her back.

Kai stared after her as she walked away before shaking his head in pity. He excused himself from the crowd of girls, proclaiming that he had somewhere else to be. Ryo glanced behind her and saw as he walked through the hallway, almost not getting anywhere because everyone wanted his attention.

_Stupid Hiwatari….he always has to make me look bad, doesn't he?_

It seemed unfair to Ryo how easy Kai had it. He had the tendency to upstage many of the other students, and some teachers found him to be a little too aloof. Kai wasn't a know-it-all, but he corrected people without sensitivity to their feelings. Yet he was still Belmont's highest-ranking pupil and he was _still_ popular, despite his shortcomings (of course, only Ryo took notice of these and picked on Kai in her head relentlessly for them).

It was lunch and Ryo sat with Naomi Landon, a short-haired, bubbly, and blue-eyed brunette. They sat outside in their usual spot at one of the picnic tables, where Ryo frequently studied as she ate and talked at the same time. In fact, she was doing this right now.

"This year's the year. I know it."

"Uh-huh."

"I'm going to show that guy that I can compete with him."

"Uh-huh."

"Besides, Hiwatari's such a jerk. He's mean, cold-hearted, and…well, stuff like that, you know?" Ryo continued, taking a huge bite out of the PB & J sandwich she had made that morning (unfortunately it got smooshed thanks to that morning's incident). "At least _I'm_ nice. _He_ on the other hand, is ruthless, pompous, and insensitive. Did you know that last year a girl confessed her heart out to him and he flat out rejected her? She cried for days, but _he_ was able to take it all in stride. That guy is heartless."

Naomi rolled her eyes. This was the kind of thing that she heard every single school day. Ryo could go on Kai-bashing for hours. Literally.

"Don't you think all this studying is ruining your social life?" Naomi asked, changing the subject.

Ryo flipped through another page in her physics textbook.

"Well, I have to make sacrifices if I wanted to make it anywhere. Besides, I'm _number two_ at Belmont. I'm so close to beating Hiwatari once and for all. I'm not going to slack off!"

Naomi smiled at her friend's zealous drive to succeed.

"Well, good luck with that. I sure can't stand doing all that but I know that if anyone can beat Kai, you can."

This seemed to perk Ryo up and she became all starry-eyed, clasping her hands together.

"Really? You think so?"

"Of course. But if you start crying over the fact that you've got A minuses and Kai's got A's, I'm going to have to stop being your friend, got that?"

"Well we certainly wouldn't want _that_ now would we?"

Ryo didn't need to look up to see who had spoken in such a saccharine and sickly sweet voice. Instead she bowed her head, pretending to be absorbed in the textbook in front of her. Naomi frowned.

Ryo wouldn't even look, but Naomi did and her blue-eyes looked at Vanessa Siegel with bitterness. She had long, wavy blond hair and blue eyes. Glossed lips smiled in a false fashion and long tan limbs stuck out of the school's newly modified uniform- a shorter pleated skirt with a lower cut top.

She had one other companion with her, but she was really quite the opposite from Vanessa; her name was Katrina Delorme. In fact, Ryo was quite jealous of the red-head, although she never mentioned this to anyone, not even her best friend Naomi.

Katrina Delorme was actually the nicest person anyone could meet at Belmont. She had the figure of a model and the most gorgeous red hair that fell in soft waves around her shoulders and bright blue eyes. She was kind and as a result, very popular as well. It was the result of all the attention she got that made Ryo jealous, or as she put it, "only slightly jealous".

"Why won't you look at me, Ryo?" Vanessa taunted. Ryo looked up, although she didn't quite meet Vanessa's eyes.

"Oh, hey Vanessa."

"You know that school uniform you're wearing is outdated," Vanessa added, eyeing Ryo's outfit. "Didn't you get the memo? Or is it that you can't _afford it_?"

"Back off," Naomi said crossly. "Go bug someone else. No one wants you here."

Vanessa snorted at Naomi's not-so-threatening words. She turned to Ryo, flashing another sweet smile.

"It's okay, Ryo. With that figure I can imagine it must be difficult to wear anything decent, let alone afford it," Vanessa said sharply, indicating towards Ryo's flat figure. Ryo bit her lip but did not say anything.

"Vanessa, you shouldn't say things like that," Katrina cut in. "We should go like Naomi asked us to. Besides, I heard Kai's in the cafeteria with Tala."

Vanessa shrugged, but not before giving Ryo and Naomi another sickening smile and a short wave goodbye. Naomi, disgusted, turned her attention towards her friend.

"That bitch. Don't let her get to you."

Ryo nodded, although weakly. She wiped several budding tears from her eyes that would've fallen if she hadn't tried to hold them back.

"Y-yeah. I know."

Naomi looked upon Ryo with sympathy.

"Listen, the next time she comes around, I'll give her a piece of my mind. How's that?"

Ryo shook her head.

"That'd only make things worse."

Naomi, however, was still bothered. She speared her salad with her fork.

"Just because her father is your father's employer doesn't mean she gets to poke fun at you all she wants. You can't keep letting her embarrass you like that. If I were you, I'd beat the crap out of her."

"You want to beat the crap out of a lot of people."

Naomi pouted. "Hey, that isn't true. Some people just really piss me off, that's all."

Ryo gave a small laugh. "Whatever you say. As long as it's not me you're mad at, swing away."

The bell rang and the students flowed out of the classrooms, into the hallways, through the courtyard, and then the parking lot. Ryo wriggled her way through slow-paced students, apologizing every five seconds for smacking students with her voluminous backpack. She eventually made it out onto the school's front lawn and walked across the parking lot to the sidewalk. Engines roared about her- expensive engines at that, but Ryo took no notice of them- every student with a license had an outrageously priced car. With the exception of her, of course. She walked about a mile's trek home, thanks to the fact that there wasn't a bus stop anywhere near the school.

_On the bright side, it's like getting some exercise,_ Ryo thought as she entered a crosswalk. _It's really not that-_

_Screech._

"Watch where the hell you're going!"

Ryo's heart raced as she was nearly run over by a blue Porche, owned by none other than Tala Valkov, who stuck his head out the window to yell at her.

Tala Valkov was the most popular student at Belmont. Like Kai, he also had charm and good looks, but where Kai tended to be cool and reserved at times, Tala was more friendly and outgoing. Tala was also more involved in school activities and was the school's star athlete and student body president. He was talked about as much as Kai was.

But despite what everyone said about Tala Valkov, Ryo only believed one thing. The guy was a jerk. An aggressive one at that.

The red head honked his horn impatiently as Ryo shuffled along the crosswalk. In the distance, a familiar voice growled into a cellphone.

"He's home? What about his business trip? Very well, I'll be there. Yes, I know _immediately_. I know it's not your fault- I'll make sure to be there soon before he gets even angrier. I'll deal with him."

Ryo blinked as Kai ended his call with an abrupt goodbye. He was leaning against his Ferrari, muttering something under his breath and clenching his fists. He turned around to open the car door, casting a brief glance at Ryo who immediately averted her gaze away from him, acting as if she hadn't heard anything he had said, and continued walking.

_Strange_, Ryo thought. _Come to think of it, I've never seen Kai even remotely annoyed. I wonder what that was all about._

….But it wasn't until later that Ryo was going to discover more about Kai that she had ever imagined.

A/N: Yay! I finished a chapter. Review if you want me to continue. Positive feedback is always nice. =)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two- Misguided Hate

A/N: I don't own Beyblade. It took me awhile to update- I'm trying not to be too cliche when I write. Thanks to all the people who did review!

Flashback

_A 13-year old Ryoko Kobayashi sat in the living room across from her father, a man in his late 40's, whose hair had already turned for the most part gray. Hironobu Kobayashi sipped from a cup of oolong tea while his daughter observed him in silence, curious, yet too timid to say anything. Ryoko didn't know why her father had called her- usually he ignored her, being so caught up in his work._

_"Ryoko-chan, you know that our family is currently in great debt."_

_Ryoko looked up at her father with searching eyes, but her father's face showed no sign of apparent emotion._

_"Your mother and I do not have the funds to afford a college education for you. We expect you to do whatever it takes- be it scholarships or a job- to help pay for your own education. We can barely afford to pay for that damn private school you'll be attending soon- but your mother believes that it will help you succeed."_

_He took another sip of tea and placed the empty cup on the coffee table with a 'clink'. _

_"As for what I think, if you fall short of doing well at Belmont then I'm pulling you out of school. For what we're paying, I expect nothing less than perfection."_

End Flashback

Ryo thought it was pretty harsh- a father placing such a burden on his child. But in a way, she knew there was some truth to his words. She couldn't slack off and she did want to get a good education. But her father's definition of "doing well" meant that everything had to be perfect- a standard that Ryo had yet to achieve.

While these thoughts were whirling around in Ryo's mind, she walked up to her English teacher, Mrs. Andrews, at the end of class.

"Yes?" Mrs. Andrews asked inquisitively.

Ryo pulled out an essay she had written- an analysis on _Romeo and Juliet._ Ryo considered it one of her better-written assignments, since she felt rather strongly about her thesis. However, it had received a whopping C minus.

Ryo showed the paper to her teacher. "I was wondering if you could explain my grade on this essay," she said, hoping some mistake might be found that would ultimately raise her grade.

Mrs. Andrews gave a hesitant sigh. "Ryo, I do believe I've tried to explain this to you many times. I admire the fact that you're trying hard, but writing a good essay requires a kind of style- and it's not easy to explain it. I honestly don't know if going over it again will help."

Ryo looked dismayed. "But I wrote a lot on it- 10 pages," she said, flipping through the pages with her thumb.

Mrs. Andrews thought hard for a moment. "It's quality that matters more than quantity," she said slowly. "But I just thought of something- perhaps you would improve on your essays a little better if you had a student review them."

Ryo gave Mrs. Andrews a curious look. "A student? Like who?"

Mrs. Andrews paused, trying to form her words carefully. She was aware of the animosity Ryo held towards Kai. "Well, Kai _is_ my best student…."

Ryo stifled a groan. She knew where this was going.

"Perhaps you could ask him to tutor you? I know he's currently looking for community service hours (after all, no student can graduate from Belmont without at least 100 hours by their Senior year). Plus, he helps other students as well, so he's got plenty of experience," Mrs. Andrews said finally, looking up at Ryo to see her reaction.

Ryo had a strained smile plastered on her face. "Oh, that sounds nice…but I think I'd rather have you help me like you always do inste-"

Mrs. Andrews paled a little. "Oh goodness no- I mean I think Kai would be a much, _much_ better help than I am. Kai, would you come up here, please?"

Ryo gave a defeated sigh as Kai walked up to the both of them. He looked at the English teacher, then at Ryo, but said nothing.

Mrs. Andrews kept on talking. "Kai, would you mind tutoring Ryo? She needs help, particularly in her essays, and she could really benefit from some constructive criticism."

Ryo looked at her teacher in disbelief. In no way, shape, or form did she say she wanted Kai's help. Yet Mrs. Andrews prattled on, and Kai nodded understandingly. Ryo couldn't help but notice the serious expression on Kai's face- how polite, yet reserved it was. Then again, it was Kai's usual look- always calm and cool to the point of borderline arrogance. Ryo couldn't understand the appeal; she couldn't deny the fact that Kai was attractive, but at the same time attitudes like his were annoying.

"After school in the library it is then!" Mrs. Andrews said, a little too cheerily than Ryo would have liked.

"Sounds great," Ryo mumbled. She glanced at Kai, wondering how he was taking it. He seemed to be taking it rather coolly and smiled politely as Mrs. Andrews thanked him a little too strongly.

Ryo turned away in partial disgust. Everyone was smitten with Kai.

* * *

Ryo sat at one of the library tables, staring up at the circle of metal roman numerals and clock hands affixed to the wall of the building. It was 3:30, and Kai hadn't shown up yet.

_Maybe Kai forgot_, Ryo thought hopefully. _Or maybe he had to go home early….like that one time._ Her thoughts reverted to the day she had overheard Kai talking on his cell phone after school- what if something like that had happened again?

However, her hopes were dashed when a familiar figure entered through the automatic library doors. Ryo couldn't help but frown when Kai saw her and started walking towards her.

Kai caught Ryo's look. "Well you look absolutely happy to see me," he said sarcastically. Ryo didn't say anything and merely shrugged. "Here, we'll take one of the empty rooms." He motioned Ryo to follow him while Ryo quickly picked up her stuff and followed him into a room with a whiteboard, an oak table, and matching chairs. Kai pulled out a chair for Ryo, who took it silently, while Kai took the seat across from her.

"Let's start with your essay," Kai said, once Ryo got herself situated.

Ryo pulled out her essay, which was covered in red ink marks, and handed it to Kai. He glanced at the first page.

"A C minus?"

"Yeah, I know- just read the thing, okay Hiwatari?" Ryo said impatiently, pained at the fact that her rival could see all the mistakes she made. "I have a bunch of other things to do besides this and I'd rather not have to stay here any longer than I have to. So if you could just hurry up, that'd be-"

Kai handed Ryo back her essay promptly and folded his arms. She blinked.

"What? You didn't even read it," Ryo protested.

Kai leaned back in his chair. "First, you act like you don't want my help. Second of all, you're being absolutely rude. I'm not going to help you if you're going to be this disrespectful."

Ryo frowned. "Well, first of all, I didn't ask for your help, so of course I'm acting like I don't want it. And second of all…." She broke off.

_Second of all, I hate you_, were the words ringing in Ryo's head. Yet something inside kept her from saying it. She ended up staring at Kai blankly. An awkward silence passed between them both.

"You need the grade, don't you?" Kai said finally. He didn't know what Ryo's blank look was about, but he supposed she ran out of reasons for the way she was acting. Either way, he knew that Ryo didn't like him at all- that much was obvious. But what perplexed the Russian was _why._

"Yes."

"And I need the community service hours," Kai finished. "So why don't we work together just as classmates and leave it at that?"

Ryo nodded. "Sounds good enough."

"All I ask is that you treat me with some degree of respect, and then when all this is done, you can go back to being rude, gloomy, and grumpy again."

Ryo frowned. "Who says I'm gloomy?"

"You're frowning right now," Kai pointed out. "And another thing- enough with the last name basis. It's annoying and disrespectful."

Ryo shrugged. "Okay, _Kai_." The name rolled off her tongue like a new word said for the first time.

Kai shook his head. "Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of _Kai-sensei_."

Ryo's mouth dropped. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Hey, you Japanese are all about respectful titles. Besides, this way, we'll be even," Kai said, grinning. Ryo thought he was having a little too much fun with this.

"But you're not Japanese- you don't even speak the language, _haku-jin_."

"'White boy'- am I supposed to be offended by that?" Kai said, raising an eyebrow. "And I think I know more about the Japanese language that you give me credit for. But we're getting off topic- do you agree to the terms?"

Ryo looked reluctant. "Everything except for the Kai-sensei part."

Kai shrugged. "Well, it's either that or you can bomb the next essay Mrs. Andrews assigns. I noticed she's not very eager to help you."

Ryo narrowed her eyes. "What? And you think you're the only option I have?"

"You have any better ideas?" Kai asked. Ryo couldn't help but catch the knowing glint in Kai's auburn eyes.

Ryo sighed. She handed her essay over to Kai. "No, I don't……..Kai-sensei."

She ignored the triumphant grin on Kai's face.

* * *

"You're late."

Ryoko slid her shoes off after closing the door behind her. Her father was sitting on the living room couch reading a magazine by the light of the silver floor lamp. He was still dressed in his work attire, although he had removed his blazer so that he just wore his shirt, tie, and slacks. He gave his daughter a disapproving look.

"Sorry dad, I had to go to afterschool tutoring today," Ryo said, bowing her head in apology.

"Tutoring? Why do you need tutoring?" her father asked suspiciously.

"My English teacher suggested it," Ryo replied smoothly. She knew her father was very mistrustful at times; he wasn't the type to think that young people were ever up to any good. As long as she could respond to his questions with confidence, Ryo found she could deflect her father's needless suspicions.

"So who exactly is tutoring you?" her father asked sharply.

Ryo sighed. "Kai Hiwatari," she said simply.

Her father's eyes widened slightly. "I don't believe it- that genius is wasting his time tutoring you?"

Ryo grimaced. _Here it comes_, she thought.

Her father continued. "Shouldn't he be out of high school by now? I hear he's going to inherit his grandfather's business- Hiwatari Pharm. Corp.- pretty soon," her father said, with admiration in his voice. "HPCO- that's the next big thing. How unfortunate to think that his father can't see his son's accomplishments. If he were my _son_- well, of course I would be proud." He paused briefly before casting a silent glance at his daughter.

Ryo looked down at her feet. It wasn't her fault she was born a girl. It wasn't her fault that her parents failed to conceive after every attempt after her. But her father made a heck of a good job making her feel like it was; it was Kai Hiwatari this and Kai Hiwatari that. Ever since he had met Kai and his grandfather at one of his company meetings at Siegel Enterprise, he had forever been impressed by the young man. He had also met Kai several times at company parties and functions- it was Kai's grandfather's way of grooming him into the family business.

"What are you still doing here?" her father snapped. "Don't you have work to do? Unlike Kai, you don't have the time or money to waste standing around. You should be grateful that he's helping you."

Ryo nodded before darting up the stairs and heading to her room. She closed the door behind her silently, held her breath for as long as she could, and exhaled. And she wondered why she didn't tell Kai to his face that she hated him.

* * *

"Does it really matter who I pick?" Ryo asked skeptically to Naomi, who was munching on some potato chips. It was Homecoming week and so the student body had to vote for the princes, princesses, King, and Queen. A ballot sheet was spread out before Ryo's binder with four names for the girls (Mariah Wong, Katrina Delorme, Vanessa Siegel, and one other obscure name) and four for the guys.

Naomi shrugged. "Probably not- although I'm hoping it's not Vanessa."

Ryo nodded. "Agreed," she said, checking the box next to 'Mariah Wong'. "What about the guys? Hey look, Kai's on here."

Naomi raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you start calling Kai by his first name?" she asked, propping her elbows on the table and resting her head on her hands.

Ryo sighed. "Force of habit," she said simply, not wanting to divulge any details. After several weeks under Kai's tutoring, Ryo had finally learned to say 'Kai-sensei' without cringing. But Ryo had to admit that it was worth it, as much as she hated to think that. Kai's comments were straightforward and helpful- he was really good at explaining. Ryo couldn't help but notice, though, that their conversations were strictly about English and nothing else.

_Oh well, at least we're getting stuff done, right?_ Ryo thought to herself, before circling 'Kai Hiwatari' on the ballot for Homecoming prince.

"Whoa- what's a police officer doing here?" Naomi asked, eyes widening as a man in a dark blue cop outfit with a badge and walkie talkie strode past them.

Ryo looked at the cop quizzically. "Well, there was a big fight or something just a block from the school. It was in the local newspaper. I don't really know the details- maybe he just wants to know if anyone saw anything," she deduced, before returning to her ballot and folding it in two.

Naomi struck a thinking pose. "Hmmm….maybe we should ask him. It might make a good story for my journalism class- and there's no way I'm going to write a stupid article on Belmont's new school policies."

Ryo looked at her in disbelief. "Are you crazy? He's not going to tell us anything. Besides, it's probably no big deal."

Naomi stuck out her bottom lip. "But-"

Ryo raised a finger. "_No_- and look, he's already leaving. It was probably nothing at all," she said, pointing to the police officer who was just walking out the school gates.

"Leaving a little _too_ quickly, don't you think?" Naomi quipped.

Ryo shook her head. "I think you're making too much out of it- Belmont is a school full of rich kids- if they ever really did get in trouble with the law, their parents would just tip the police off. You're better off thinking about something else- like that upcoming test you've got."

Naomi stuck out her tongue. "Or how about hot guys? Like Kai? I could think about him all day."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

Naomi laughed. "That's okay- Tala's a lot cuter, anyhow."

Ryo shook her head. "Whatever."

"Speaking of Tala, are you going to his Halloween Party?" Naomi asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, because Tala invites me to his parties _all_ the time," Ryo said sarcastically.

"You don't have to be invited," Naomi pointed out. "Well, I was- but if you want to come with me, I'll vouch for you. It's going to be a costume party."

Ryo shook her head. "I haven't worn a Halloween costume since I was 12," she said, thinking of the generic witch costume that was sitting in the back of her closet…..somewhere.

"So? We'll buy a new one. We'll go shopping, how's that?"

Ryo thought for a moment. "Well, if you're there then I guess it won't be _that_ bad. Hmm…sounds like fun."

Naomi's blue eyes brightened. "Great! We'll go shopping tomorrow after school, okay?"

"Ummm….hold on there. I've got tutoring tomorrow- how about on Saturday instead?" Ryo suggested.

"Sure, I can do that."

Just then, the bell rang. Ryo slung her backpack over her shoulder- another couple of grueling class periods to go.

* * *

Ryo tapped her fingers on the table impatiently. _Why is he always late?_ she thought irritably. _And he's more late than usual._

She had been sitting in one of the empty study rooms in the library for about an hour. Ryo, tired of waiting, stepped outside of the room into the library- the sky outside was getting dark and the library's indoor lights were on.

Ryo frowned. She was going to have to walk home in the dark.

_Curse daylight savings_, she thought, wandering around the eerily empty library. She passed by the library desk- no one was there. Ryo quietly approached the library doors- the sudden wooshing noise the automatic doors made when they opened made Ryo jump.

_Is anyone here?_ she thought nervously, stepping outside into the crisp cool air. It was windy. She wrapped her arms around her body, trying to keep warm.

Just then, Ryo spotted a figure in the shadows, approaching her from her left. She brushed her bangs out of her face to better see the silhouette. It was definitely a guy. Ryo wondered if it was Kai.

"Kai?" she asked shakily. The figure continued to approach- maybe it was him? Ryo breathed a sigh of relief. "Why the heck are you so late!?," she shouted. The library's practically empty and I've been waiting here all……by……myself…."

The figure stepped into the light of the library's front lights. Ryo stepped back, startled- it wasn't Kai. No, it was someone much older with square, broad shoulders and a mouth curled into a twisted grin.

"Where is Kai Hiwatari, indeed," said a cool, sinister sounding voice.

* * *

A/N: So there it is- R & R please! Suggestions/comments are welcome.


End file.
